


Said the Witch in His Arms

by VegabondGloria



Category: Odin Sphere
Genre: F/M, Fluff, Pre-Canon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-04
Updated: 2017-01-04
Packaged: 2018-09-14 17:02:06
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 742
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9195314
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/VegabondGloria/pseuds/VegabondGloria
Summary: Cornelius thinks about his interactions with Velvet and the two make a promise to each other.





	

_Don’t associate yourself with the Forest Witch_ , they always said to him. _Bad things will happen to you. She will curse you._ Cornelius didn’t know whether to believe their words or not, but eventually he chose not to believe them. It hurt him somewhat to forego the advice of so many, but he really just couldn’t.

Velvet was unlike any person he had met before. The young woman was a scarlet dance in his vision and her voice music to his ears. She dressed in a rather skimpy outfit, yes, and Cornelius had initially found himself flustered, but he came to ignore that completely. He wanted to know her for _who_ she was, not what she _outwardly appeared_ as, and he found that everything was beautiful.

He noticed that she often looked rather sad. Sometimes when he came to their meeting place, he would catch her with her eyes half-lidded, a frown her face, and her fingers toying with that strange crystalline chain as though it were nothing more than something to weigh her down. She never talked about her family--Cornelius remembered her once mentioning her mother, but she never spoke of the last king of Valentine or if she had any siblings. The one time he asked her if she still had blood relatives, she only said that “I do have to worry about that.” She didn’t elaborate afterwards and he didn’t want to prod.

Seeing her sad so often made Cornelius want to make her happy. He didn’t know what kind of gifts to give her (she always acted like she didn’t need anything more than what she had), but he did everything he could. He complimented her appearance, held her close, made chains of flowers with her, and kissed her forehead gently. He did worry that she thought he was only sweetening her up and wanted her for the sake of just having her, but her brightened face said everything.

In a way, she seemed to want to make him happy too, and she did. Velvet showed him around Elrit--they observed the bees making their honey and the frogs serenading each other in the lagoon. One time, she fearlessly approached a manticore despite its fierce roaring and plucked a stick that had been stuck in its foot and causing it agony. She was so kind and _thoughtful_ and always seemed to want to take care of others. That included him.

“But I…” One day, he found difficulty in forming the words. “I have everything. I’m truly privileged. I mean...I sometimes feel _insensitive_ and worry that I...I make you uncomfortable.”

He jolted at Velvet’s touch--her hands were on his cheeks and her violet eyes were staring right into his silver ones. They weren’t serious, but she still appeared skeptical. “You shouldn’t worry about such things, Prince Cornelius. You don’t make me feel uncomfortable. You give me a reason to _live_.”

The Titanian’s lips moved, but the words could barely sputter out. “You...don’t have…?”

“I don’t. _I do_.”

Her arms looped over his shoulders--a struggle since he was somewhat taller than her, and she rested her head on his chest. “I haven’t felt this way in years. Even before my kingdom fell, I struggled with the idea of wanting to see another sunrise. Being able to have a beating heart and to breathe was amazing, but I had no reason to…”

She looked up at him. A ray of sunlight became caught in her eyes and her lips formed a golden smile. “You’ve proven that there is still genuine kindness in the world. I want to treasure it, always.”

Her could feel her relax as he finally wrapped his arms around her and held her by the small of her back. His lips once again touched her forehead and he heard her exhale gently, as though she had found a home for the first time.

“Then we’re both blessed,” Cornelius whispered softly. “Because I want to commit such words to memory. For that reason, I promise not to let you go.”

“And I know you’ll hold true to that promise,” she leaned up, eyelashes fluttering. He could hear both their hearts pounding in his ears and he closed his eyes as she spoke against his lips. “So let me swear to you I won’t ever leave you alone.”

In that moment, Cornelius wondered if she wished the embrace that they shared could last forever.


End file.
